Gold trade in Thailand: Bullion backwash

The two gold biscuits an Indian man in Bangkok’s Chinatown holds in his right hand are no bigger than a Swiss army knife. He has just bought them on Yaowarat Road for $15,000, but in his native Mumbai they are worth $16,500. They can travel in a computer bag or “if you are really worried about customs”, he says pointing at a shop which sells plain golden necklaces, “you buy those and put them around your wife’s neck.”
Earlier this year the Indian government imposed quotas and increased taxes on gold imports, but it takes more than that to limit Indians’ love of gold. Although the country’s statisticians report that Indians officially buy a lot less of the precious metal—148.2 tonnes from July to September, a third less than in the same period last year—there has been a surge in gold smuggling………………………………………..Full Article: Source